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Play Time

Hey guys,

I was hoping someone could give me some advice on getting my cavalier a little more active! I got her earlier this year as her previous owner was rehoming her. She is four years old and called Coco. I have been told that she was a very playful dog untill the age of two, when her old owner got another puppy. From this point on she has had no interest in playing with toys again!

I don't think the four years old is quite over the hill so she is very able to play if only i could get her interested in it! If a ball flies past her she just glances at it, and will quite happily give up on a game of tug-of-war!

Perhaps I will have to accept that she won't play, but I would love to get her having some fun! Also she's a little overweight and a game or two would help contribute to that all important excerise

If you have any tips or even some ideas as to why my little Coco is just a little lazy it would be appreciated.

Neither of my two have ever been interested in toys. On the other hand, they both love being trained and love retrieving their dumbells even if they ignore balls. If there is an agility training class near you, why not enrol Coco in that? That would give her (and you!) exercise, and also teach her to do something fun for which she gets fuss and praise. If there aren't any classes, you could set up a sort of obstacle course in the garden, with simple jumps, cardboard boxes open at both ends to run through, stools to jump on, squares marked on the ground to lie down and stay in for a minute or two, and so on. There are plenty of books and internet info to tell you how to train her. Some Cavaliers just seem to like doing things with their humans and being taught (and praised), rather than playing games with toys that they are supposed to enjoy for their own sake but don't.